HORNETS to release ‘No Faith’ EP on Mar. 31

We never set out to make music with any particular sound in mind other than HEAVY,” asserts James McAuley, vocalist of Belfast quartet Hornets; “Our sound is raw and aggressive, but we generally take influence from any form of music that makes interesting use of time signatures and grooves in the rhythm section.”

Whilst Hornets are undeniably a nest of musical fury, the quartet – completed by guitarist Andy Shields, drummer Richard McAuley and bassist Craig McCloskey – are also more creatively complex and ambitious than you might think, astutely reaching beyond the confines of ‘genre’ to find inspiration for their feral sonics. “We draw influence from bands that experiment with merging different genres,” explains McAuley; “In these instances it’s maybe not always music itself that’s the direct influence, but it’s more the idea of building bridges between different genres that interests us. I like to think that this fresh approach to the process has given us better results.”

The latest results of the band’s leftfield songwriting approach is the raucous ‘No Faith’, a mini-album that stitches punk thrash into doom laden grooves in a snarling collision of mismatched sonics that somehow, some way, works. And rather brilliantly, at that. “My hope is that people will hear this release and realise that we are deadly serious about what we do, and that we mean business,” McAuley declares. “We set very high standards for ourselves but ‘No Faith’ is sharper, tighter and darker than anything we have done before, and it’s a great feeling being able to release all this negative energy in such a positive and raw form.”

To mark the release of ‘No Faith’, Hornets will make their first foray outside of Ireland, the quartet currently gearing up to export their high octane, intense live show to UK audiences throughout March. “We’re not trying to be anything we’re not, and we don’t put on a front,” concludes McAuley. “We’re just real people, writing real music that means a lot to us.”